Authors
Elsayed Eshra, Gordon Warn, Konstantinos Papakonstantinou
Publication date
2023/4/11
Description
The main objective of this study is to assess and evaluate PennDOT’s current specifications for wind loading on completely erected steel girders with diaphragms installed but prior to the placement of the deck. Current specifications are evaluated with respect to recent changes to AASHTO’s wind loading procedures for bridges under construction based on the 3-second wind gust calculations and the relevant stateof-art research. This report first provides a comprehensive literature review on wind loading for bridges under construction, including the relevant PennDOT wind loading procedures and lateral stability bracing guidelines. Subsequently, the PennDOT wind loading procedures are comparatively examined against the corresponding AASHTO procedures. The structural modeling and analysis procedures, utilized to evaluate the relevant PennDOT’s lateral stability bracing guidelines, are then developed and verified. A parametric study was implemented to assess these guidelines, considering all relevant parameters involved in wind loading, structural modeling, and analysis. Numerous girder systems with different parameter values were analyzed, with a particular emphasis on comparing the lateral displacement of the girder systems against the permissible values. Additional investigations are subsequently discussed to explore the effect of fully and partially fixed transverse diaphragm connections, as well as variations in the diaphragms’ and braces’ cross-section size, on the lateral displacement of girder systems. The impact of the uplift wind forces on system demands is also examined. Based on the findings of this study, it is determined …
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